Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Machine quilting

I am working on the binding for my Half Log Cabin quilt and since I am still set up for machine quilting I decided to take a break from the binding and do some machine quilting. I have 2 more besides this layered up and then a few more that are not layered or ready yet to quilt. This quilt (click to see the whole quilt) has been ready to go since December but I have not been in a hurry to finish it as I consider it a Christmas quilt (kind of). I am quilting in the ditch around the blocks and across the 9 patch cornerstones in both directions. I am also gong to some ditch quilting in the blocks but I have decided that I am going to do some big stitch quilting with either embroidery floss or perle cotton in the large open areas in the blocks. If that goes well I maybe do some big stitch quilting in the sashing with white or cream. We'll see if I still want to do that when the time comes. I might do free motion quilting and I will probably do free motion in the border. Going around the border on the outside of the quilt usually goes pretty well as there is no bulk under the arm of the machine.
I am still working on this quilt and it is going along slowly. I move it around from my sewing room to the living room and back again. I think if I do a little handwork every day or so it doesn't bother me too much.
I am fighting against losing the skills I worked hard to attain just because I am getting old. It makes me cranky when I have to settle for what I can do instead of what I really want to do. I really don't want to be cranky and I am not ready to give up yet on quilting my own things.